On the blog since 2009

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The season is back..but the weather is unpredictable..this trip was suppose to be a 4 days 3 nights trip but ended up a day earlier due to weather condition.The wave was not so big until the morning we left,but the water was not warm enough for the fish to be active..but anyway,some actions are better than none..

Sunday, July 22, 2012

A short evening trip to a nearby stream where you can get jungle perch...it is very hard to find a spot when you have a very limited time,since most of the nearby area are 'fishless' due to over fishing and 'progress'.
And at this small river,we never catch a big Adong(hampala barb)...until this one.
Really a rewarding trip!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Been thinking about this trip for so many years,been reading and
listening to stories about this place for many times...and yesterday,we
made it after a call to someone we know there and he arranged the trip
for us.Departed at 4 am from Kuching,four of us made it to the
reception jetty of Hilton Batang Ai around 7.30 am after a breakfast
stop at Jelukong.The boatman took us to the resort where his 'co-pilot' waiting for us.About
2 hours journey,we reached our first stop at the almost crystal clear
water rapid,where some of Sarawak Forestry workers collecting sand for some
paving work at their office by the dam lake.The water was a little bit cloudy after the rain the night before but the water level is still very low. Casting
for a couple of hundred times here before we heading upper river.Got
few strikes but no hook on until a couple of stops later...when the boat
almost docking at the river bank,a cast near a dead tree received a
strike from a 'Sergeant'..the three stripes jungle perch,locally named
Juak.The new ultra light Shimano rod bended to the max.And the best
part,it was the oldest,the cheapest,and the worst spoon lure in the
collection,the treble hook only have 2 hooks,one is broken from the
previous trip and never been changed !Couple of local boats
passed us,they went upriver for net fishing...after that,it became
quite,no more strike..probably because the fish are spooked(hehe)..in
Iban we call it 'regu'.After the lunch with baby fish cooked in
the bamboo,we drifted down river again,and where the river water meets
the lake water,here we received more strikes from Juak and their
cousin,Adong,the single stripe Hampala Barb,some hooked on and some just
chasing the lure.Spoon lure,spinner,shad rap and jointed rap worked
equally the same.About 5.30pm,we headed back to Hilton Batang Ai,and by sunset,we reached the reception jetty.One of us get addicted and still don't get enough..did some casting here and get a strike but didn't hook on. After the bath in the lake,we say goodbye to the boat man and drove back home...We'll be back...

The Captain

Heading up the dam

The team

Optimistic

Calm...

Sun coming up..

The glory in front..

Approaching Hilton Batang Ai

Jetty at Hilton Batang Ai

Longhouse folks going down the dam

Rural clinic

SK Nanga Delok

Sarawak Forestry office

Entering the river...

Approaching the first casting point

The Forestry staff collecting sand for some paving work...

Underwater view of slight cloudy river

And the action begins...

The 3 stripes..

Jungle perch have no teeth,they swallow their preys and crunch them with their sharp parts inside their mouths.

Juak have three stripes,while their cousins,Adong,have only one.

The tips to success is...keep on trying

Borneo wildcat on the sponsor boat,Marlboro..

Keep casting

This is the source of Sarawak energy..

Wild kittens can become earings too...

'I am too hungry that I have to eat Matan's cat'

Pansoh Ikan...baby fish cooked in the bamboo

Our special custom made table for lunch..

Sunset on our way back through the dam

Satisfaction guaranteed

Bliss for the blessed ones..

Happiness..

Half peace..

The sun goes down...

...feel the light betray me

back to the reception...

Adong (top) and Juak (bottom)

Till next time around...

Bujang...bujang...

This is all we took..the rest,we let them stay where they belong, for the food of the longhouse folks and for the other anglers to enjoy their thrills.